


Of Sea Glass Eyes and Stormy Skies

by cryingcryptids (tatterwitch)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dreams, Gen, Human Sora, Mermaid Riku, Mind Manipulation, Moving, Near Drowning, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 06:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18750871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatterwitch/pseuds/cryingcryptids
Summary: Sora dreams of much.But most of all, he dreams of the sea.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Mermay! This fic is dedicated to Michelle; the girlfriend of my dreams and the very enabler that got me into KH. Without her, I wouldn't have found these characters, their bonds, or the wherewithal to write this.

Sora dreams of much. 

 

He dreams of a great expanse of endless blue. There’s a constant, comforting sort of rush in his ears as he drifts, weightless. Shapes move through the fringes of his vision; fins of varying shapes and sizes sway hypnotically in rhythmic patterns. Overhead, the sky seems to ripple in an odd sort of way. Foamy white appears and dissipates like ghostly lace. Light dances in bizarre ripples and webs. It’s peaceful and calm. He belongs here.

 

He dreams of sand, bleached cold and grey. A small field of it is torn up into chaotic furrows. Prints of feet and haphazard drag-marks arc along the tidal line. The waves that crash upon the shore are faintly pink before the foam rinses white. Something tumbles out in the shallows with the ebb and flow of the tide. Long strands of something dark and wet tangle upon the surface. Further out, heads break the waves. Mournful, angry tones rise and fall. A ragged fin breaks the surface near the beached thing in the shallows. Its owner appears among its brethren a moment later, arms laden with a small, still burden. Dark scales glint in the fading sunlight as the carrier points one clawed fingertip toward the shore, sorrow and fury etched into a pale face.

 

He dreams of silver scales and sea glass eyes. Lips touch his own, soft and off-center. Damp, cool skin presses against his own as water laps over his legs.

 

Sora dreams of much. He yearns for the waves that surround the island his family calls home. His heart aches, reaches for something he cannot name when he stands atop the cliffs above the beaches and sea and looks out at the cusp of the horizon. His ears ring with the faint lilting song of melodious voices if he listens hard enough at the onset of dusk.

 

Sora dreams of much. 

 

But most of all, he dreams of the sea.

 

⧫⧫⧫

  
  


“Careful, heart!” His mother’s voice rings out above the din of the pier and the crash of the waves beneath weathered wood.

 

Sora half-turns from his vantage point near the pier’s edge and gives her a smile. The sea wind ruffles his hair and tosses it into his eyes. He shakes his head and lifts one hand to push it back. His fingers are still sticky from the spun sugar he’d been treated to earlier.

 

His mother smiles back and returns to speaking with the friend she’d run into.

 

Sora turns back to the stretch of the sea before him. 

 

Waves break on the reefs further out, casting foamy flecks high. The water glitters in the sunlight and makes him squint. Boats are nothing but pale specks near the beginning of the horizon. Some smaller crafts bob in the waves closer to the shore past the reefs.

 

On the beach, people bathe in the sun and play in the shallows. Children squeal as they splash one another and get buoyed by the tides.

 

Sora feels a sharp stab of fleeting jealousy as he watches children his age joyously frolic in the sea. His parents had forbidden him from ever setting so much as one toe in the water. He wants nothing more than to run into the surf and laugh like those children down on the beach.

 

Another gust of wind tousles his hair once more and Sora reaches up with both hands to push it back, unthinkingly. The soft sole of his shoe catches on a bit of splintered old wood near the edge of the pier. It unbalances him and, with his hands free of the rail, Sora tumbles. He slips between the rails and falls.

 

Water rises up to meet him, a wish fulfilled. 

 

Sora has no time to shout or drag a breath in before he hits the surface.

 

The waves open around him and then close over his head. Water fills his ears and rushes up his nose as he frantically struggles to reach the surface. His heart races within his chest. He flails, kicking up loose sand, arms trailing bubbles. His lungs burn for air.

 

Something glints, flickers nearby. The shine reminds Sora of the polished silverware his mother keeps for special occasions. It’s brilliant and shines brighter the closer it comes.

 

Abruptly, his mind fills with the stories his father and mother have told him of the sea. He thrashes at the thought of some kind of shark or hungry fish or eel with its sights set on him.

 

His wrists are grasped firmly. Water rushes against his skin with the passage of something. Scales brush his legs and toes. Something soft tickles his face before a mouth bumps clumsily against his own. Surprised, Sora’s lips part around a startled, scared shout. But before water can flood his lungs, air pushes its way into his mouth.

 

Sora gasps it in greedily and opens his eyes. The saltwater stings but he squints past it and the settling clouds of sand.

 

A long silver tail flips, beating gently at the water. Scales climb up before gradually fading into a softer belly not like his own. A flat chest, pale as though it’d never seen the sun, rises and falls with even breaths that are shared with Sora. Moon-pale hair drifts around cheeks highlighted with fine iridescent scales. Sea glass eyes stare into his own, wide and curious.

 

Sora gasps sharply. His dreams, nothing more than hazy half-memories, crystallize for one brief moment before that long tail beats once, twice. 

 

Water rushes by and then the hands on Sora’s arms shift to his waist. His head breaks the surface as the mouth against his own falls away. He gulps in briney air as he’s pushed beneath the shadow of the pier and onto the pilings there.

 

His knees scrape against barnacles, mussles, and old cracked cement as he turns back toward the rushing sea below. He ignores the painful stings and catches one last flicker of the silver tail before it disappears in a cloud of sand churned up from the bottom.

 

For a moment, Sora only stares at the water as his heart hammers. Then, the sea wind touches his soaked skin, hair, and clothing, and he begins to cry.

 

It takes his mother the better part of a half hour to find him. He can hear her frantic calls over the rush of the waves beneath his feet. He answers, but his voice is snatched away on the wind and waves. She strides through the shallows and over the sharp stones and barnacles beneath the pier to reach him; her face anguished and full of fear. When she reaches him, she grasps him tightly and pulls him from the pilings. Tearfully, she pets his hair back and walks them back to shore.

 

“What have I told you, Sora?” There’s anger in her voice but it’s broken and shaky.

 

Sora’s tear-stained cheek brushes against hers. He grasps her shirt in his chubby hands as he looks out toward the see, heart quivering, quivering,  _ reaching _ . 

 

“To stay out of the water. But mama, I didn’t mean to. I fell. I’m sorry.”

 

She holds him tighter.

 

“Promise me, heart.”

 

Out beyond the reef, a pale head peeks up. Sora can’t see the glint of silver scales or sea glass eyes but he knows they’re there. The strange pull inside his chest strengthens fiercely and he squirms before answering.

 

“I promise, mama.”

 

⧫⧫⧫


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The song is inescapable. It reverberates between his ears and sends shivers coursing over his skin. The tones have changed, though. The melancholy, mournful notes have lowered into something beseeching and earnest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As this fic continues, certain tags and ratings will change. Please keep an eye out <3

Sora dreams of a song that moves beneath his skin, cool and comforting.

 

He rolls in bed, sheets tangling around his sticky skin. The cotton binds tight around his ankles and he kicks halfheartedly, the dregs of a dream still clinging in gossamer webs from the corners of his mind.

 

The mattress’ springs squeak with his movements. His bed creaks, old wood settling. Down the hall, his father’s snores rumble. From the half-opened window there comes the faintest snatch of a hoarse yet melodious tone.

 

Sora freezes before slowly sitting up. 

 

The sound fades amongst the din of distant crashing waves and the sea wind bringing a storm in. Silence rings in Sora’s ears for a handful of heartbeats. The wind abates for a moment. The noise returns once more; mournful in its rise and fall of crackling notes. It makes the hairs all over his body stand on end. The tones shift and blur together.

 

Sora’s toes alight upon cool, bare wood. His mattress squeaks again and his sleep-shorts stick to his sweaty skin. He breaths in rhythm with the song as it rises and falls.

 

Moonlight peeks through the thickening wisps of cloud. Cool glass and white-washed wood greet his fingertips. The frame of the window squeals as it’s pushed higher. A Lego submarine and several pieces of chipped sea glass tumble to the floor. His knees scrape over the sill before he catches himself on the worn wood of the wrap-around porch.

 

The melody thins for a moment and Sora pauses on the stairs. It strengthens, carried on the growing ocean wind. 

 

Crushed gravel grinds into his bare feet before giving to rough beach grass and then night-cool sand. His heels slide a little on the dunes. The wind snatches at his hair and blows it into his eyes. Waves crash upon the reefs further out, casting water high into the air. Droplets glint in the dimming starlight before scattering across the choppy surface and hidden rocks. 

 

A dark shape bobs in the furthest part of the shallows. It rises as Sora stumbles across the beach. Dark hair clings to pale skin. Slashes of black that ride the curves of sharp cheeks glisten faintly in the moonlight. Eyes gleam above the waves. Their color reminds Sora of the hunk of amber his science teacher keeps on the desk at school.

 

The song is inescapable. It reverberates between his ears and sends shivers coursing over his skin. The tones have changed, though. The melancholy, mournful notes have lowered into something beseeching and earnest.

 

Sea foam hisses around Sora’s toes and ankles. Water rises over his calves. The tide tugs at his legs like the song pulls at his insides.

 

A hand, sharp at the fingertips and flecked with dark scales, lifts from the water. Dark brows cant over golden eyes.

 

Sora mirrors the action, fingers spreading wide as he wades deeper. The hems of his shorts turn dark with water and cling to his legs.

 

Something bangs from behind him. Gravel kicks up and scatters wildly. Sand hisses against itself and there’s a series of fearful shouts.

 

The figure in the waves cries out, sharp and furious as it darts forward. Its eyes widen, desperation thinning the brilliance of their color. Ragged fins break the surface. Clammy scales and sharp claws ghost mere inches from Sora’s hand.

 

Arms wrap tightly around Sora’s middle and lift him from the surf. Water splashes up as lightning splits the sky near the horizon. 

 

Another cry rises up as his father’s voice shouts over the sound of the waves and wind. Something warm and wet splatters against Sora’s cheek. His mother’s hair slaps at his face as she runs back up the dunes.

 

She nearly falls on the steps but rights herself. The door opens and closes behind them. She carries Sora into the bedroom on the opposite side of the house and sits him on the bare mattress. His soaked shorts cling to his legs. His ears ring with thunder and the tormented, mournful cries from the sea. His mother slaps her hands over his ears and presses him tight against her chest. Her body trembles as she rocks them both.

 

Sora blinks hazily. Wetness rolls down his cheeks as he stares out the half-opened bedroom door. He can’t hear the waves or calls but he can feel them humming in his bones.

 

The door eases open and shuts after his father’s broad shoulders. His face is weary and his clothes are dark and smell of brine.

 

“We can’t stay here any longer.” The words are muffled by the hands over Sora’s ears.

 

His mother’s face crumples but she nods.

 

⧫⧫⧫

  
  


Boxes fill the dull interior of the van to the brim. The vehicle’s engine idles as Sora’s father drags the back of the van shut. Metal grates and slides home loudly. 

 

Sora stares out at the waves beyond the beach.

 

Sunlight dances over the surface, sparkling merrily. In the distance, the faint smear of the pier and shore town are barely visible. The family house stands behind them, empty and lifeless. The driver’s side door closes with a clap. A seatbelt buzzes against plastic before clicking as it’s secured. The car rumbles to life.

 

A soft, warm hand reaches over and ruffles his hair gently. Kind brown eyes crinkle at the corners but the smile doesn’t reach.

 

“There’s so much to experience on the mainland, Sora. This is for the best.”

 

The car shifts into gear. Gravel crackles beneath the tires.

 

Sora watches the ocean fade in the rearview mirror once they disembark from the ferry. His bones ache. Something in his chest cracks.

 

Then, the last blurry smear of navy vanishes and hot salt runs down his cheeks.

 

⧫⧫⧫

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on twitter @cryingcryptids! Come talk to me about, well, KH, cryptids, or this fic!


End file.
